Duewell on resource overload

Have you ever suffered from resource overload? I know it’s possible because I deal with it myself. From trainers, friends, family, newspapers and magazines to television, books, radio and the Internet, there are so many places to find good, high-quality information that sometimes it’s overwhelming. Add phone and tablet applications to the list and you just might not know where to turn. It can be a little intimidating, and often that leads to failure.

In fact, the other day I received an email from a reader who was going through severe information overload herself; specifically smartphone, fitness app overload.

“I want to know what you think of iPhone health apps,” Adina K. asked. “I need something to track my workouts and diet and I’m thinking about trying one of them, but I’d like to know if they work first.”

Let me say that I’ve personally never used a fitness app — not because I haven’t wanted to, it’s just not a service I’ve used. I do, however, have a close contact that is more or less a smartphone app expert. Lately he’s even become a fitness app expert.

My friend Mike and I go way back. He is a former classmate, and we still talk on a daily basis. Whenever I have a tablet, phone or app question, I turn to him. In the last year, he’s lost 40 pounds on his way to his goal of losing 100 pounds — all through the use of fitness apps.

Partially because of Adina’s email and also because of my own curiosity, I decided to ask Mike a couple questions about what makes fitness applications so useful.

Brian: “As a user of fitness apps, what draws you to them?”

Mike: “In a word, simplicity. You can easily track the exercises you do each day with what you eat and they sync together, all with the push of a button.”

Brian: “Which apps do you use?”

Mike: “I like, ‘Map my fitness,’ for walking. ‘Map my ride,’ for biking. And ‘Lose it,’ for diet and calorie tracking. Map my fitness and map my ride have a GPS that registers my distance and calorie burn automatically. Lose it also syncs them all together so I can get a full layout of my weight loss progress.”

Brian: “What advice do you have for someone looking to try a fitness app?”

Mike: “Read the reviews — unbiased reviews — from people who have used them. Then use the free apps first, if you like them you can add the extra features later.”

I don’t have much space for this week’s fit recipe, so rather than a full recipe, let me just offer up this quick little trick I use whenever I make fruit salad. Simply splash about a tablespoon of lemon juice on the cut fruit and coat thoroughly. Especially as we head into apple season, this one little thing will extend the life of the food before it turns brown and soggy.

If you have questions, comments, recipes or information you’d like to pass on, contact me at brian@brianduewel.com or on twitter (@bduewel) and be sure to check out my blog at healthylivingwithbrianduewel.com.